Don't Speak (A Modern Fairytale, #5)(118)

“And Erik!” she called, just as he was about to press End.

“Yeah?”

Her voice was excited. “I can’t wait to meet her. Ava Grace. I want to get some presents for you to take back to her from her Aunt Hillary, okay? I’m thinkin’ five-year-olds like stuffed animals, right? Any idea which would be her favorite?”

An image of Mr. Mopples appeared front and center in Erik’s head, and he chuckled softly. “I think I have a pretty good idea.”

***

Ava Grace had a big smile on her face as Laire dropped her off at school for her first day, refusing to let her mother walk her to class, and opting to hold the principal’s hand instead.

She’s tough, thought Laire, feeling proud of her daughter as she drove back to the Pamlico House, where a boat rental was waiting for her.

Kindergarten was three and a half hours long, which meant that Laire had an hour to get to Corey, an hour to visit with her father and sisters, and an hour to get back. She parked her car in the space that Erik had vacated that morning, then walked inside the Pamlico House to grab the keys that Mr. Leatham promised to have waiting for her. After school, she and Ava Grace would pack their things and settle the bill before moving into their new home.

Twenty minutes later, with the cold wind biting her cheeks, she passed Utopia Manor on the portside, a chill running through her as she recalled the last time she’d walked up to the house, only to be called a liar and an opportunist and to be turned away.

She’d been so young, a child. A scared little girl with a baby on the way and no plan, no real means, no support. Looking away from the grand mansion, a vision of Judith’s kindly face entered her mind and soothed her heart. Thank God for you, Judith.

Laire had called Kyrstin this morning and asked if she could come and see her, Issy, and their father this morning. Kyrstin said that, since their father and Issy worked at King Triton on Tuesdays, it would be easy to catch them in one place, and Kyrstin promised to stop by the shop at ten o’clock, right around the time Laire would be docking.

“Goin’ t’be quite the reunion, li’l Laire.”

“Does he still hate me, Kyrs?” she’d asked.

Her sister had sighed into the phone. “I don’t know, Laire. We barely speak of you. I know you hurt him bad when you pulled that stunt with the governor’s son, stayin’ out all night. And he knows why you left. ’Cause of . . . the baby.” She sighed again. “I hope this isn’t a mistake, you comin’ here.”

“He’s still my father. And you’re still my sisters. I just want to see you. I want peace between us. Someday I’d like you to know my daughter.”

As she always did, Kyrstin ignored Laire’s reference to her illegitimate child. “You don’t even sound like an islander anymore, Laire.”

“See you at ten?” she asked.

“All right,” said Kyrstin. “At ten.”

Laire hung up quickly because she had to get Ava Grace ready for school, but also because she didn’t want Kyrstin to change her mind.

Now, as she neared the dock owned by King Triton Seafood, her heart clenched, and a mass of butterflies appeared in her stomach out of nowhere. Would her father reject her? Would Issy refuse to speak to her?

Laire had learned how to live away from Corey, and, as she’d always suspected, she preferred it. She had no interest in ever going back to island life, but still, this had been her home for eighteen years, and she desperately wanted peace with her family, no matter what hurts they’d heaped on one another once upon a time.

As she pulled up smoothly to the dock, she threw the two buoys over the side, cut the engine, and leaped from the boat with the stern line in hand, securing it to the waiting cleat with a practiced flick of her wrists. She grabbed the bow line and did the same, quietly marveling that, after six years, she still had the skills.

I’ll always have them, I guess. Corey will always be a part of me.

Taking a deep breath, she looked up the gangplank to the little blue, shack-style storefront that read “KING TRITON SEAFOOD,” her heart racing.

Breathe.

She heard Erik’s voice in her head, and reached inside her shirt for the necklace she’d worn last night. It was warm from her skin, and it comforted her as she walked slowly up the planking, closer and closer to where her father and sisters waited.

Each step was loud in her ears as her boots scraped over the metal walkway. When she got to the end, she stared down at the ground, afraid to move forward, frightened that she’d do more damage than good by coming here. She froze, rethinking her decision, wondering if she should leave things be and turn around.

Suddenly she heard the tinkling sound of a bell and raised her eyes to the source. And there, standing just outside the little shop, was her father. Hook Cornish. Not quite as big. Much more gray. One side of his face sagged, but otherwise, it was just as tan and craggy as ever.

She raised her eyes to his, staring at the father she hadn’t seen in six long years.

“Well, if it isn’t our li’l Laire, finally come home.”

Still uncertain, she stood stock-still, watching his face . . . and that’s when she noticed: his blue eyes sparkled as his uneven lips fought to smile. He nodded at her in welcome and opened up his arms.

With a sob of relief, Laire sprinted into them.

***